The Creak / Knees That Creak

A creak of a museum floor contains layers of information. Who were the people that stepped over it through centuries, what path they were following, what were their thoughts, ideas and fears?

This piece contains 8 authentic field recordings of real squeaky floors from Russian and international museums – combined with an artistic monologue by Galina Cherkashina, who is the head of 14-17 Centuries History Department at the Sergiyev Posad State museum.

She speaks about the meaning of this particular sound, covering a number of topics, from the museum creak’s sonic qualities and its ability to evoke feelings and images in one’s imagination to its role as an unbiased historic witness or even a privacy invader.

Most of these squeaks were gathered by a recorder lying on the museum floor, sometimes at the risk of being confiscated by the security officers. Each recording location is stated within the piece.

Recorded through several years, these raucous sounds act as a soundtrack to the times long gone, yet remaining a timeless classic up to the present day.

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Narration by Alexander Shvetsov, the stage director at the Teatralny Kovcheg theatre in Sergiyev Posad.

This piece has been shortlisted at the 2020 SonOhr Radio & Podcast Festival in Bern, Switzerland.